De-bunking the myths of English Cookery
One delicious recipe at a time

Recipes that are delicious and that always work!

You know these recipes are delicious because if I didn't think that they were fabulous . . . I wouldn't be showing them to you. You can also be sure that these recipes work for the same reason! The rest is simply a matter of taste.

Butter, Sugar, Eggs and Such . . .

Search This Blog

I Won!

Follow this blog with bloglovin

Followers

Follow by Email

E-Mail Me

Thank You

Did You Know???

Make Your Own Self Raising Flour:You can make your own self raising flour by adding 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder and 1/4 tsp of salt to every cup of plain flour.

Make Your Own Baking Powder:You can make your own baking powder by combining 1 tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda with 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar. It's ideal for coeliac sufferers who can't find the gluten-free variety of this raising agent, but measure it out carefully because too much or too little can upset a recipe's balance.

Make Your Own Mixed Spice:You can easily make your own mixed spice: Combine 1 TBS ground cinnamon, 1 tsp each of ground coriander and nutmeg, 1/2 tsp of ground ginger, 1/4 tsp each of ground cloves and all spice. Mix well and store in an airtight container out of the light for up to 6 months.

Make Your Own Cajun Seasoning: Mix together 2 1/2 TBS of salt, 1 TBS dried oregano leaves (Rub to a powder using your fingertips), 1 TBS sweet paprika, 1 TBS cayenne pepper, and 1 TBS ground black pepper. Store in an airtight container out of the light for up to six months.Make Your Own Pumpkin Pie Spice: Mix together 1 TBS ground cinnamon, 2 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 tsp ground cloves, 1/2 tsp ground allspice, 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg and a pinch of ground mace or ground cardamom. Store in an airtight container out of the light for up to 6 months.

Welcome to my English Kitchen. I moved over here to England from Canada in the year 2000. Before I arrived, I was told that the cooking and food over here was awful, except for the Roast Beef and the Fish and Chips. I had no idea of what to expect, but it didn't sound good.
I landed at Heathrow with a bulging suitcase full of kitchen tools, handwritten recipes and a 4 litre can of Maple Syrup, totally prepared to be greeted with the worst.
I am happy to say that over the past 14 years I have discovered that most of what I had heard was totally and completelywrong!
Here in the UK we have some of the best poultry, meats, fishes, ingredients and produce in the world, and some of the most innovative chefs. I have learned so much about cooking in the past twelve years, and I've enjoyed trying and experiencing many new things, thankfully most of them wonderfully delicious!
I love English food . . . both the traditional, and the wonderful blend that is modern British Cuisine . . . a delicious mixture of a variety of tastes and cultures.
I hope you'll come along with me as I explore all the wonderful tastes, sights and textures that England has to offer even the most discerning of palates.

Marie Rayner cooks and writes from a little terraced house where she lives with her man the Toddster, and their little pup Mitzie.

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

What to eat now!

...

Buy My Cookbook

A lot of you have suggested that I write a cookbook. The good news is I already have. Recipes From The Big Blue Binder. A delicious sampling of all my tried and trues, and family favourites gleaned from a lifetime of love and good cookin'! Find such favourites asBanana Granola Pancakes, Mom's Split Pea Soup, Chicken Caesar Salad Pizza, and Grammy Woodworth's Blueberry Buckleto name but a few. 178 pages of delicious recipes and beautiful colour pictures, available as a lovely book or as a download. You can click on the book to go to my storefront to purchase. If you already own it, please feel free to leave feedback on my Lulu page. Thanks so much!

I'd love to hear from you!

Monday, 5 November 2012

I was recently asked to participate in the Sunvil Supper Club for the month of October. For this month’s Sunvil Supper Club, they teamed up with the Swedish Tourist board to use one of their recipes to celebrate one of Sweden’s most famous culinary exports . . . the cinnamon bun.

I have a confession to make. I am not a great yeast bread baker.In fact, I would be the first one to tell you that I make great doorstops . . . but I do not make great bread. This recipe did look however, like something I could rise to. (Every pun intended!)

I realized when I first began to work through the recipe though . . . 25g of yeast . . . it was far too much, it was almost half the tin of my granulated yeast. I decided that the recipe must be referring to fresh yeast, which obviously would be quite different. And so I measured out 1 1/2 tsp of yeast which is what is in most packets of dried yeast, or 7g. I also added a bit of sugar to the milk and warmed it a bit so that it would get started properly.

Then when I was kneading it together, the dough was very, very stiff . . . and so I decided to add a bit more milk to it until I had a dough which I felt was the right consistency. Firm, but not too solid . . . and neither too sticky. Firm and smooth.

It took my dough roughly twice the recommended time in the original recipe to rise to what I thought it should in the first rising. I was very nervous about this, wondering if I had done something wrong . . . it was a nail biting, on the edge moment, but I persevered.

Rolled it out as required, spread it with butter, yada, yada, yada . . . I had severe doubts if I would be very successful with these buns, but in for a penny in for a pound.

For the second rising, I put them into my oven on the dough rise program. I still wasn't sure if these were going to turn out. Call it a lack of faith in my yeast baking prowess . . . call it whatever you want. I am not very confident when it comes to baking with yeast.

Brushed with egg and sprinkled with some candy pearl cake sprinkles . . . I baked them and wowsa, wowsa . . . I was so surprised. These turned out really nicely! Perhaps not quite as light and fluffy as the ones you buy in the shops . . . but quite, quite edible.

Todd ate three while they were still warm with his mid-afternoon cuppa . . . I feel a lot more confident about my yeast bread baking prowess.

I wonder what they will be baking in November??? Hmmm . . . the Sunvil Supper Club. I'll have to check back to see what they are doing. Fingers cross no yeast is involved!

In
a bowl, mix the yeast and a few tablespoons of the milk. Leave for a
few moments, whilst you melt the butter and combine with the remainder
of the milk. Add in the yeast mixture, and then the sugar, salt,
cardamom and flour. Knead the mixture until the dough is firm and
smooth. (either in a machine using a bread hook or by hand) Cover the
dough with a tea towel and allow to rise for 30 minutes at room
temperature. (I had to add more milk to make the mixture of the right
consistency. I shaped it into a smooth ball after kneading and placed
it into a greased bowl, turning it to grease the top before covering it
and leaving it in a warm place. Mine was left for one hour to rise.)

Once
risen, briefly knead the dough again and then roll it out to a
rectangle around 3mm thick. (1/2 inch). Carefully spread the dough with
the softened butter. Combine the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle it
all over the top of the butter. Roll the dough up tightly along the
longest edge to create a long sausage. Slice into approximately 25
rounds, 1/2 inch thick.

Place the rounds into paper muffin
cases, with the cut edge facing upwards. Place onto a large baking
sheet. Cover with a tea towel and allow to raise again for another
hour, in a warm place until doubled in size.

Once risen, beat
together the egg and water and brush the tops of the buns carefully with
this mixture. Sprinkle with the pearl sugar (or more cinnamon) and
bake in a 225*C/425*F/ gas mark 7 oven for around 10 minutes.

This humble sweet treat, more commonly known as kanelbulle in Sweden is a national favourite, and one that has been copied across many parts of the world. They have been covered with a layer of icing in Belgium and the United States, and filled with raisins in the UK, but those with a simple scattering of sugar on the top are the original Swedish favourite. Often made when guests are expected over for coffee, they have become so popular that in recent years it has been given its very own day – kanelbulle dag. Literally translated as ‘cinnamon bun day’, it is now celebrated in Sweden and around much of northern Europe each year on the 4th October.

On a more Festive note, it may only be the beginning of November, but Christmas will be here before we know it and once again, I have created a lovely little Christmas Cook-booklet just in time for the holidays, entitled Christmas In The English Kitchen. Larger than my previous booklets, this
one is 47 pages, filled with lots of tasty recipes for everything from
soup to nuts, lots of recipes to take you through the Holiday Season.

Gifts From the
Kitchen. Delicious Starters, Mains, Sides and Desserts from my very own holiday
kitchen. English Folklore and Traditions for the Holidays.
Interspersed throughout are twinklings of my own artwork and this one
even has several photographs of the food included. Inspiring Quotes,
Free Printables and everything you need to know about the Christmas Celebrations in an
English Kitchen.

Available for the same low price as my previous cook-booklets at only £5, this delightful little booklet will be delivered within 24 hours of receipt of your payment as a downloadable PDF, printable booklet. All who have purchased my past booklets, and this one have been well pleased, and when my readers are happy . . . that makes me happy too!!

For more information and a buy now button, please look up at my upper LEFT hand column of this page. This would make a great gift for your friends or family, and I am more than willing to send it to anyone you wish for me to send it to, along with a gift e-card greeting of my own design. There are also three other cookbooklets offered and a Three for a reduced price deal.

8 comments:

YUMMY! These are just like the cinnamon buns my Norwegian mother-in-law makes. She use fresh yeast. I'm not much of a yeast-bread maker. I make homemade pizza crust and a few odd things. I let my mother-in-law make the cinnamon rolls. ;o) Happy Day, Marie ((LOVE & HUGS))

Yeast doughs are tricky because they are so dependent on the temperature, even the humidity in one's kitchen. You just have to go through the trial and error of it all, and adapt your recipes based on the clues provided by the time it takes to rise, etc.. The rolls looked wonderful though.

They look LOVELY!!! You can bake with yeast, see?? Be confident!! I swear by your recipes. I always assume your versions are the best :) Ahhh, a good brand-new cookbook is such an adventure!! Can't wait till I can start expanding my collection. Starting with your cookbooklet!! On my way to get one right now :) Hugs!!April

Due to increased interest, I have decided to offer my illustrated cookbooklets on a permanent basis. At present there are five on offer, but I will be adding to them from time to time so do check back often. You can find them all by clicking on the COOKBOOKLET heading above. I think you will find that they are good value for money spent and they make delightful and economical gifts for your friends and family. Thanks so much for looking!

They are titled: A Very Royal Tea Party, The Great British Picnic, Christmas in The English Kitchen, Recipes to Keep, and Spring into Summer.

All are recipes that you will not find on my blog anywhere.

Feel Free to Grab My Button

Colour ME Chuffed!!

Read My interview

Proud to Belong

I WON!!

APPLE PIE ROLL UPS

I can't pretend to know everything, but I more than welcome your questions and suggestions. Feel free to e-mail me on MarieAliceJoan at aol dot com and I'll endeavour to find out the answers to your most burning questions. Maybe we can learn together!